Kim Deso, who recently completed a course for entrepreneurs offered by St. Rose College and the Community Loan Fund, stands in her new wellness business office Friday morning, Feb. 28, 2014, in Colonie, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Kim Deso, who recently completed a course for entrepreneurs offered...

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Paul Stewart speaks to a class at Siena College regarding his work at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region Friday morning, Feb. 28, 2014, in Loudonville, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Paul Stewart speaks to a class at Siena College regarding his work...

Image 3 of 6

Kim Deso, who recently completed a course for entrepreneurs offered by St. Rose College and the Community Loan Fund, stands in her new wellness business office Friday morning, Feb. 28, 2014, in Colonie, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Kim Deso, who recently completed a course for entrepreneurs offered...

Image 4 of 6

Paul Stewart speaks to a class at Siena College regarding his work at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region Friday morning, Feb. 28, 2014, in Loudonville, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Paul Stewart speaks to a class at Siena College regarding his work...

Image 5 of 6

Kim Deso, who recently completed a course for entrepreneurs offered by St. Rose College and the Community Loan Fund, stands in her new wellness business office Friday morning, Feb. 28, 2014, in Colonie, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

Photo: Skip Dickstein

Kim Deso, who recently completed a course for entrepreneurs offered...

Image 6 of 6

Paul Stewart speaks to a class at Siena College regarding his work at the Community Loan Fund of the Capital Region Friday morning, Feb. 28, 2014, in Loudonville, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein / Times Union)

More than 700 students have participated in the program, says Mike Mathews, coordinator of the MBA program at Saint Rose and an associate professor of business administration.

Typical classes can be as small as nine students or as large as two dozen.

Some already have businesses, and are belatedly learning the basics. Others are taking the course to help them qualify for a loan from the Community Loan Fund. Still others go on to launch business and, later, expand them.

And a few, after taking the course, decide owning a business really isn't for them.

"We kind of almost view that as a success when we can open people's eyes" to realizing that running a business isn't for everyone, Mathews said last week.

Kristen Estes' web design business, Bananerd, was already up and running when she decided to take the course last autumn.

"One of the best ways that it helped is it made me realize I'm doing things right," she said. "The biggest takeaway was networking with other entrepreneurs in the class. Getting to know other people in the same boat with you is really helpful."

Then there were the outside speakers that Mathews brought in, including a banker and a lawyer.

"The course brings in experts from their fields that are local," Estes said. "If I need an accountant, there's an accountant I can trust. I got so many names, and resources, just by taking the course."

Kim Deso has held positions from career counseler to psychotherapist that gave her a strong foundation for her new business, Inspiritus, which she describes as a wellness center for mind, body and spirit, on New Karner Road in Colonie.

While she had started working on an MBA several years ago, Deso found the Saint Rose course to be more practical.

"I found a lot of information that's useful in starting your business that isn't what you get out of a traditional MBA," she said.

She decided to enroll after talking with several graduates at the Community Loan Fund's annual meeting.

Not every graduate succeeds.

Mathews tells of one small-business owner who waited until 18 months after she'd started her business to take the course.

"She had gotten herself in so deep it was almost beyond saving," he said. In the end, "she had to liquidate the business."

But another graduate launched a women's fashion store and recently opened a second branch.

"The biggest thing is just not having business skills," Mathews said. "We have a lot of people who bake cookies. They want to open a bake shop. Too many people view it as 'take my hobby and make a business out of it.'"